Jo, I was formulating my reply as I read down the thread, and now I see you have gotten there a bit ahead of me. Yes, muscles especially those with trigger point contractions, often exist in chronically shortened form either within the segments of the muscle or along its length. A variety of therapies can release these contractions, in effect restoring the muscle to its normal "longer" state. Another example is how after one side of your body worked on, whether in massage, chiropractic, stretching, etc, you will indeed be longer on that side--more space opens up in the hip area and that foot is definitely further from your head than the other foot.
I have an appt with a pilates rehab person late this month and will keep aikiweb posted on how it goes.